How to Make a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

A Thanksgiving charcuterie board is the perfect thing to serve at your party while you wait for Thanksgiving dinner. Here are some delicious appetizer ideas for turkey day charcuterie boards.

What To Add To Your Charcuterie Board?

Type of Meats To Add to Your Board

It wouldn't be an authentic charcuterie board without cheeses and meats!

You can use:

• Rolled-up slices of cured pork belly
• Several varieties of cheeses such as:
  • Burrata
  • Camembert
  • Goat Cheese
  • Stilton
  • Brie
  • Blue Cheese
  • cheddar cheese
  • French cheese
  • Soft Cheese/ Semi-soft cheese

Type of Fruits, vegetables, and herbs:

• A row of apples, pomegranates, and mini pumpkins can create an autumnal feel.
• You can also use blanched green beans, sage, rosemary, and thyme, which bring in a pop of green color to break up the warm colors of the season.
• Use small pieces of fruit like pomegranates, apricots, and raisins for added visual interest.
• Pickled green beans and homemade cinnamon praline nut brittle would be an excellent pairing for the blanched green bean salad.
• Bowl of mixed olives in a pumpkin-shaped bowl is a salty, delicious topping for any meal.

How to Build a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

Step 1: Cut Cheeses into Shapes

• To start, slice a maple tree shape out of the wheel of Brie, or any type of cheese you please.
• Place it along with the container of cranberry jelly a little off-center from the center of the board

Model Featured: TableCraft Products 79 13 1/2" W x 7 1/2" D x 3/4" H Wood Rectangular Bread Board

Step 2: Fill the bowls

Put the next largest item first which is the bowls. Put down the plate of olives on the upper right-hand side, and balance out the rest of the ingredients by placing the remaining plates of nuts further away from each other, leaving some space in between them so there’s enough space for vegetables.

You could add some seasonal dishes like the pumpkin bowl to give your board a bit more of a theme for Thanksgiving.

Step 3: Place Apples, pears, and pumpkins

The empty space between jars of jams and bowls of nuts is perfect for larger items like apples and pomegranates. Once you've placed some there, scatter the rest of them throughout your board, feel free to chop up any that don't fit.

Step 4: Place other cheeses

• You can place wine next to the cheeses and cranberries because the color of the bottle matches the cranberries in the middle of the Brie cheese wheel.
• Placed cubes of Colby cheese next to the nuts

Step 5: Fill The Spaces With fruits, veggies, pickles, and meat

• Since the remaining pieces are smaller, they're ideal for filling in any empty spaces on the board.
• Place the pickles and fresh fruits like pom­egranate.
• Blanchette green beans and rolls of uncured capicola are similar in shape, they look good next to each other.
• To create visual contrast, put the round grapes next to Colby cheese.

Step 6: Finishing touches

Place the maple leaves pastries next to the wheel of brie, and sprinkle in some more cookies in other locations on the board as well Sprinkle some aromatic herbs here and there.

Step 7: Serve and Enjoy!

Set up snack plates, napkin holders, and toothpicks for guests to use when they want to eat something without touching their hands. Cheese markers will help you as an event host by making it easier for guests to identify different kinds of cheeses. You could choose between white wine or red wine depending on which one you prefer, but if you want something better than just wine, you might consider trying different types of cheeses.

Put the nuts, olives, and jam in one bowl; then put the cheese wheel in another bowl. Don't forget to fill your bread basket with jam before serving it!

Serving of Ingredients Per Person

Try following this easy rule of thumb: serve 3-4 slices of meat and 1-2 ounces of cheese per person in a variety of flavors and textures.

If you want to have more diverse options, you can try these:

• 2-3 types of meat (mix mild to spicy)
• 2-3 kinds of cheese (mix soft/hard, mild/sharp flavors)
• 2-3 seasonal fruits (mix fresh and dried)
• 2-3 types of spreads (mix sweet and salty)
• 2-3 types of crackers and/or bread
• 1-2 extra ingredients such as chocolate, nuts, fresh herbs, and flowers to fill in and garnish your board

Other Ways to Arrange a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board?

You could fill up a larger surface by arranging your food into the shapes of a bird, leaf, or even a jack o'lantern. You can easily create holiday-themed appetizers by cutting out letters from different types of cheeses using cookie-cutter shapes. Your friends will appreciate the extra effort you put into making their appetizer special for the holidays.